


buried under your skin

by shalexandej



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Brief Mention Of NSFW Content, Established Relationship, Fighting, Hockey, Hockey Fights, Kissing, M/M, New York Rangers, Pining, Roommates, Setting Up, confessing, marc/hank and john/neal if you squint, proposing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 14:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14166780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shalexandej/pseuds/shalexandej
Summary: Brady wants to be there for Jimmy through thick and thin. It gets rough when he’s in love, too.





	buried under your skin

They’re skating, slamming into each other, and for a split second, Brady’s looking behind himself and Jimmy falls. All he can think is that Ves is down and Johansen- that piece of shit- and another guy slammed into him. Brady doesn’t hesitate.

Vesey’s clutching his head and Hank bends down to check on him. By that time, Brady’s dropped the gloves. He’s skating over to Johansen, and his brain isn’t even thinking about it, his legs are pulling him forward, he’s grabbing Johansen by the shirt and just  _ hitting _ . Anywhere he can reach. He wants to hurt him, Brady wants him to be hurt instead of Jimmy.

God, Jimmy. Fucking James Vesey. Brady loves him. Brady loves Jimmy Fucking Vesey so much it’s hurting him. So much he wants to hurt Johansen because watching Jimmy  _ stagger _ over to the bench like that, in so much pain like that, it’s the worst thing for him.

They’ve always been them, 26 and 76, Vesey and Skjei, Jimmy and Brady. Jimmy is always on Brady’s  _ fucking _ mind and even though it wasn’t until recently that he came to terms with  _ feelings _ and shit, Brady thinks he’d always knew that what he thought about Jimmy was less of a ‘bro-thing’, and less of an ‘I love my teammates’ thing too. It’s ‘I love you and I want to kiss you and hold you and spend my life with you,’ but he could never tell. He can’t tell Jimmy, because it will make things weird, and he can’t risk that. At all. They play together. They’re a pair. He can’t bear playing with Jimmy and avoiding passing and avoiding eye contact.

Brady’s head is swarming with thoughts as they pull Johansen away. He’s ended up on the ice, Johansen on top of him, bruised and sweaty and messy haired. Jimmy’s looking at him from the bench. He’s rubbing his sinuses, but Jimmy is  _ looking _ at him and grinning and Brady feels good. He’d fight Johansen again if he had to, for Jimmy. Because he ’s in love with him-  he loves Jimmy platonically. He’s pushing the feelings out of the fucking way. Because that’s where they need to go.

Brady takes his time in the penalty box to stop focusing on the game.

 

Jimmy talks to him when they get to their and Haysie’s apartment. 

“Thanks.”

“I-” Brady runs his hand through his hair. “Yeah. You’re- You’re, um, welcome.”

He ducks into his room and doesn’t say goodnight.

 

Jimmy is there in the morning, defrosting the waffles that have been wedged between two shelves in their freezer. Haysie is pouring orange juice and setting up the coffee table in their mostly drab, empty apartment.

All Brady says is “G’morning,” and then he sits down, and says nothing for the rest of the meal. Haysie looks worried and so does Ves. Brady doesn’t pay attention.

Haysie comes up to him at practice, in the locker room because Brady had to take a ‘bathroom break’.

“Something up? You were quiet today, at breakfast.”

Something  _ was _ up. Some instinct in him was telling him  _ don’t talk to Ves, don’t talk about Ves. People will find out you have a big fucking crush on Jimmy Vesey, and then you’re basically dead.  _ But he had to let it out. And it’s Haysie. The worst he’d do is tell Pionk, who would organize fucking fifty dates at the same time. At least he has Gilmour to put up with his shit. Brady also thinks Hank already knows. He’s intuitive enough to see. Therefore Staal knows, and probably Fast- he’s overthinking it.

“Uh, yeah. It’s about,” he looks around the room to ensure Vesey isn’t in there before he pours his entire fucking heart out. “Ves. It’s about Vesey.”

“Are you guys doing it or fighting?”

“Haysie.”

“Sorry. In my defense, it was a rational assumption.”

“Can I…say it?”

“Sorry. Go ahead. One mic.”

“I like Ves.”

“Yeah, I like Ves too, everyone likes Ves, because we play together. What the fuck are you getting- Ah.”

“Yeah. I was thinking I would have to clarify. I was trying to think of how subtly I could say.”

“You like-like Jimmy?”

“Fucking God- How old are you, Haysie?”

“I’ll always be 11-ish years in my heart.” 

“I see. But, like,  _ feelings _ are  _ hard _ and…”

“Feelings are hard and so are you, I’ve heard it a thousand times.”

“I’m not hard.”

“Okay, whatever, go off.”

“I want to tell him, but only if he likes me back.”

“I can help with that,” says another voice. Brady jumps right out of his fucking skin. It’s Hank. Basically Team Dad. Also Marc, but Hank and Marc are basically attached at the hip. If you tell Hank something, Marc knows .2 seconds later. 

“How long- have you been standing there?” Brady’s voice is a trembling mess.

“Long enough to know you have a schoolboy crush on Ves,” Marc’s voice carries a mocking tone. 

“Fuck you, Staal.”

“Hank’s job, sorry that I can’t take you up on that one.”

“Hey, wait,” Haysie breaks the tension. "I’m gonna ask Jimmy if he likes you.”

“No! That’s the least subtle way of going at this,” Brady can’t tell who says what anymore because Hank says, “Oh, hey, Ves,” and slaps the aforementioned on the shoulder and everyone’s quiet. 

“Hey, Ves,” Brady’s quiet. 

“Hey, guys, just checking on ya. Also, Pionk and Gilmour won’t stop.”

“Tell them to go into the bathroom and get it out of their system,” Hank is terse about his words. 

“I think our bathroom is only used for shitting half the time. The other half, someone’s probably jacking it,” Staal offers. A few laughs circulate, and Brady’s fiddling with his hands. 

Haysie, Staal and Hank look at eachother. The next fifteen seconds are a blur and all he can hear are everyone’s excuses for having to leave, which Brady later realizes is an elaborate on-the-spot plan which, when he looks back on it, was very smart. It’s just him and Ves. His worst nightmare and favorite dream. 

“Hey,” Vesey tries, and Brady doesn’t look at him. 

“Hey,” Brady says back. He doesn’t dare look up, even though he wants to see Jimmy’s helmet hair so bad and he just wants to fucking look at Jimmy but that’s  _ weird _ because Jimmy doesn’t like him back. 

“Why are you being so…” Brady can tell that Jimmy really doesn’t want to say ‘weird.’ “So… not yourself?”

“I- can’t talk about it.”

“Well, you told Haysie, so you should tell me.”

“I didn’t tell Haysie.”

“You’re a shit liar.”

“Okay.”

“So, tell me, then.”

“Well,” Brady can’t believe he’s actually about to fucking reveal his biggest secret to the person he vowed he’d never tell it too. He breaks. 

“I like you- hell, I fucking _ love _ you, Ves. And I feel like fucking shit about it but if I keep it from you any longer I’ll feel shittier. So, that’s it. That’s the big thing.”

Jimmy doesn’t respond. Brady takes that as a no. “Sorry. I- we can go to practice and pretend nothing happened.”

Brady starts to get up and that’s when Jimmy snaps. 

“No.”

“I get it, you don’t have to rub it in, Ves.”

“No, you fucking idiot, I’m into you.”

“You- what?”

“Brady. I feel- I feel the same way, okay?”

“Jesus, you’re a master of all things subtle, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“So, um, how long have you…” Vesey continues. Brady couldn’t muster up the courage to speak between Jimmy’s words. 

“Since Bed, Bath and Beyond.”

“Holy shit, Bray.”

“Yeah. Sorry…?”

“Apologize again and I’ll kiss the sorry right out of your mouth.”

“I dare you. Sorr-“

Jimmy’s lips are on his and  _ holy shit he didn’t know it could feel like this  _ and he’s enjoying every second of it. 

“You want to let me take you out tonight? Like, on a date?”

“Yeah,” Brady replies, and it feels lame. “Wanna go back out?”

“Yeah.”

Their date night ends up being in their apartment.

 

3 YEARS LATER

 

“You wanna come home with me for Christmas?” It’s out of the blue, and Jimmy, of course, says yes, because he loves Brady and he will until the end of his life. Also, Scott and Michele Skjei are the best people ever. 

Vesey also has a proposal plan. Or, as he’s calling it, the proposal^2. The Proposal Proposal.

  1. Take Brady to the ice rink at a romantic time (will need to look up what times are romantic)
  2. Skate around and do gross couples things
  3. Pull him into the middle and get down on one knee
  4. Re-tie my skates so he’s misled (he won’t leave because he’s Brady. He’s stubborn)
  5. Pop the question!



 

When they get to his parents’ house, Jimmy insists on going skating. He’s initiating Proposal^2. Brady and him are in the car, listening to whatever comes up on Jimmy’s Spotify because 1. he’s driving and 2. he’s too lazy for premium. 

The plan is in action. 5pm is the romantic time. Item one, scratched off the list. 

They push and shove each other a lot, but they also held hands most of the time. So Item 2 is off. Things are progressing. Jimmy is nervous, more than ever. He pulls Brady into the middle of the rink.

“Dude, this is for the slow peo-“

Jimmy’s on one knee. He’s so wrapped up in Brady’s grin that he forgets part 4. It was stupid anyway. 

“Brady Skjei, I remember three years ago on this day you told me you loved me and I was so fucking happy and I wish you had told me sooner but this will have to do. I want to spend the rest of my goddamn life with you. Will you marry me?”

Brady’s wiping away tears as fast as possible and he just whispers ‘yes,’ over and over and over. It’s perfect. 

**Author's Note:**

> hmu on tumblr baby, @autonetz or @bradyskjci


End file.
